Concept Reply supports MULTIVAC in developing smart services for the Industrial Internet of Things

20 December 2023

Concept Reply, part of the Reply network of companies and specialised in IoT, is working with MULTIVAC, a leading manufacturer of processing and packaging solutions, to develop smart services for automated machine monitoring. This project is part of the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance initiative, in which industry-specific companies have joined forces to develop common standards for the transformation to the Industrial Internet of Things. 

As a member of the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance, Concept Reply contributes its expertise to IoT projects and actively supports the setting of standards in the field of Industrial IoT. In this context, Concept Reply is successfully working for international founding member MULTIVAC on the "smart services" project. This cloud IoT project aims to digitally manage machines - both locally and remotely - to make processes more transparent and to increase the efficiency and productivity of systems.

The cloud IoT platform implemented for MULTIVAC acts as a central monitoring and management instance. The data is processed on the platform and made available to users as smart services in freely configurable dashboards. The use of a micro-front-end architecture on the Azure cloud and the application of modern web technologies form the basis for the future use of AI-based assistants, thus laying the foundation for new business models and a sustainable, resource-efficient smart factory. The combination of cloud & edge computing reduces latency from data acquisition to sensor technology and actuator control. The benefits for the user are real-time data processing, protection against cyber-attacks and direct machine-to-machine communication. 

Further projects with MULTIVAC are already in the pipeline to expand industry standards through the intelligent digitalisation of production and to actively shape the future of Industry 4.0. Dr Marius Grathwohl, VP Digital Products and Transformation at MULTIVAC and Member of the Board of the Alliance, concluded: "The successful collaboration between Concept Reply and MULTIVAC is based on the commonality of an open mindset and a shared understanding of Industry 4.0. Both companies are members of the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance, and we already have a common understanding of the architecture".

Together with its members, the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance is developing multi-vendor Industry 4.0 solutions and services for automated production systems and warehouses. Use cases include automated onboarding, device provisioning, device management, digital nameplates, digital twins and automated device lifecycle management. The open technical ecosystems enable machines and applications from different vendors to be networked and data to be securely transported along the value chain.